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Top Celebrity Progressive Dads

When we are exposed to alternative/progressive parenting in the media via celebrities, 99.9 percent of the time it is focusing on the mother – we all know these mothers…Alicia Silverstone, Mayim Bialik, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Ricki Lake, Jennifer Garner…the list goes on and on – but what about the men in their lives?

Who are the celebrity crunchy dads? Do you know any that aren’t included?



Tom Brady – The EcoFriendly-“Crunch”

Tom’s wife, Brazilian super model Gisele Bundchen, opted to have not just one –but TWO home births (which, in Brazil, is practically unheard of with a nearly 93 percent c-section rate!). 


Gisele and Tom's home uses solar energy, as well as lighting systems that reduce energy consumption and a rainwater recovery system. Another neat detail – nearly 80% of all the construction waste was reused or recycled. They also chose to use recovered stone/wood and household appliances with a green seal.

The icing on top…Gisele and Tom incorporated Elimination Communication into their routine and touted having completely potty trained their son Benjamin by 6 mo old!

Wowzers!



Brad Pitt – The Bed Sharer-“Crunch”


I'm sure you've seen the  picture taken by Brad on the cover of W magazine showing his support of actress/wife, Angelina, breastfeeding one of their twins. Brad also sports an Ergo from time to time (of course, with that many kids, one would have to consider baby-wearing at some point).



Brad has also been an advocate for cosleeping – or what he calls ‘family sleep’. He has gone on to say that they have a giant bed – which they all crawl into and watch movies and sleep – now that sounds awesome, count me in.




Woody Harrelson – The Community Conscious-“Crunch”

This might come as a bit of a surprise, but Woody’s wife, Laura Louie (who he met on the set of Cheers and later married) gave birth to all three of their daughters at home.


Harrelson’s wife is also a co-founder of Yoganics which is an organic food delivery service – hecks yeah!

Harry and his wife raised their daughter’s in a sustainable community of approx. 200 people on the island of Maui (sign me up please). The people who live there are all about biodynamic farming and building a close knit community.

Both Harry and his wife started ‘Voice Yourself’ which encourages people to protect pollution of air, soil and water – and both write blogs for topics they are passionate about.

Top it off – Woody refers to his three daughters as his “Goddess Trilogy”. Awww.



Scott Disick – The Communicator-“Crunch”

Scott might not be crunchy by choice, but he’s definitely by association. If you thought only hippies skip deodorant, make their own baby food and opt for birth au natural – then you have never seen one Kardashian sister.


If you’ve watched any of the shows, then it doesn’t take long to see that Kourtney is a mega advocate for natural living, co-sleeping and breastfeeding.

I think the biggest attribute to this crunchy father is the communication we see between him and his wife. Although she seems to push him just as far as he is willing to go sometimes – he is never shy about talking about his feelings and expectations in their relationship and family.


He may get a lot of slack – but good job, Scott!




Tobey Maguire – The Educarer-“Crunch”

Tobey is among a handful of famous parents who choose to raise their kids the ‘RIE’ way.


What exactly is RIE? The Resources of Infant Educarers is an approach based on allowing a child to “unfold in their own way and on their own time to discover, inspire and manifest the best in themselves and in others.”

Tobey tries to forego the onslaught of over-stimulation via baby toys and products – its much more ‘back-to-basics’ type of parenting.


I think we can all take a cue from this papa.




Joel Madden – The Spritual Heart-“Crunch”

Joel might not seem all that crunchy, especially compared to his wife Nicole Richie who skips battery operated toys and plastic for her kids, Harlow and Sparrow…and sugar, well, that’s a huge no-no.


But when it comes to spirituality and acceptance, Joel knocks it out of the park.

Joel has gone on record stating he would accept his children for whatever they choose to believe.

I feel like we love people the way we want to be loved, right? So that’s like our way of communicating with each other. And I’ve gotten a lot of strength out of my faith, it’s given me strength in times when I needed it. So my own kind of wants for my kids is to have that foundation if that was where she wanted to go. I love my daughter more than I love myself, and that would be a selfish decision to punish her for not believing in something that I believe."


From the Perspective of a 'Crunchy' Dad

I would like to preface this by sending out many thanks to Mike Beers for contributing this to my week of honoring the fathers and husbands in our conscious parenting community! I’ve been blessed to dialogue with Mike for several months now. Although I have not met him in person, I can say that he has influenced my choices for the better and I am a more informed mother, a better wife and a more compassionate person because of his influence. Thank you Mike!

********

I’m an opinionated, sarcastic, geeky, imperfect attachment daddy. My wife and I have a 3.5 year old daughter. I've learned a lot, and followed my gut a lot in the way I have parented. Coming to the conclusion and acting as an attachment parent comes easy for me. I love my daughter more than anything. I couldn't fathom hitting her or yelling at her out of my own frustration with her developing mind.


Biggest Challenge of Attachment Parenting

I want to be around her constantly, but I also want to accomplish things. Accomplishing things, while tending to my daughter's needs, is not always easy.


Next Challenge of Attachment Parenting

Then, there are the small but meaningful differences in opinion between my wife and me.  I try to be supportive of her, but sometimes we have a different opinions and priorities of how things should be handled. I'm definitely learning more every day on how to better balance the parenting and the marriage. Luckily, we have the same goals.


I think support is the most important thing in an attachment parenting family. That has included defending each other to extended family. For example, we skipped Christmas with one side of extended family because I was asked prior to the party if my wife could nurse our one year old in another room. If we are all family, we should not be shunning family behavior like that.

The attachment parenting road is not always an easy one. Ties to people I thought I would always be close with have been broken or damaged, because I learned things about myself along the way that they didn't agree with.

In the end, for me anyway, it is all worth it. I can't imagine being happier by placating others. Being true to my instincts and to my wife and daughter has made me the happiest, and I'll continue to do that. No matter what obstacles I may come across.

Mike lives in Michigan with his beautiful wife Nicole (check out her handcrafted diaper cover etsy site here) and their daughter Eisley. Thanks again Mike!!

Fathers - The Unsung Heroes of Attachment Parenting

When a couple becomes a family and gives their first cuddles and kisses to a beautiful and precious child, they find themselves with a passionate and novel project: parenthood.


Leading up to this post, I tried to ask fathers about their thoughts on attachment parenting…those of who I considered to be part of an attachment parenting team. All of them had the same response in common…something to the effect of, “I don’t know what that is” ; “I didn’t realize I was ‘crunchy’ ” ; “I have no idea what that is”.

It’s extremely enlightening to see the men in these “crunchy” women’s lives completely unaffected by the labeling of AP, crunchy, alternative, granola, etc….

To them, it is simply how things are done in their house – things that work well for their family.

However, although they might not be aware of it, their role in attachment parenting is vital.

It is easy for a mom to become overwhelmed (especially in those early months) when they find themselves swimming against that forcible current of commonly held beliefs and practices held by their friends, family, media, doctors, coworkers, etc. 

This is where men excel in APcreating a nurturing environment by supporting his partner. For a mother having put the extra time, effort and research into finding out what they feel is best – having a place absent of criticism where she can confide and find support is essential.

Breastfeeding is just one of a countless number of examples - Although men cannot breastfeed, their support in the breastfeeding relationship is enormous (especially if a mother decides to breastfeeding for longer then what is seen as ‘normal’). For me, I would have NEVER lasted without my husband’s support (and still lasting!) (thank you hun).

What I find special in attachment parenting dynamics is that with the development of the parent-child attachment relationship growing – as so does the wife-husband relationship grow.

A father is not pushed out by the bonds of a mother and child, but instead acts as an integral element. A successful attachment parenting team is not as formidable without a father’s conscientious presence, support and commitment.

For a healthy family dynamic, each family must find their own method of parenting style that works best for their situation. Parenting is demanding no matter how you define it – attachment, free style, conventional – and marriage should be progressive and always a work in progress.


AMAZING Vegan Quiche

This is so amazing that I’ve made it twice in the last two weeks...and I would have made it again for a third time, but I held back and decided to skip a week – but I totally plan on making this again next week!


The recipe is extremely versatile and tastes AMAZING – I never had quiche (not even the “regular” non-vegan kind) until now. It’s super easy and the taste will blow you (and your non-vegan friends) away.


Ingredients

•1 tbsp olive oil
•1 small onion, chopped
•2 garlic cloves, minced
•¾ package of frozen spinach, thawed and drained (or use a whole bag of fresh)
•½ block firm tofu
•¼ cup nutritional yeast
•4 tbsp soy milk
•½ tsp tumeric (I used mustard powder bc I didn’t have any tumeric)
•salt & pepper
•1 sheet defrosted puff pastry dough
•¼ tsp paprika
•1-2 tomatoes, sliced


Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375F

2. Heat olive oil over medium heat, and saut̩ onions and garlic until translucent (about 2 minutes). Add spinach and (you can use fresh spinach Рjust cook until wilted). Season with salt and pepper.




3. In a food processor, add tofu, nutritional yeast, soymilk and tumeric (or mustard powder). Blend until you have a creamy, even consistency.



4. In a mixing bowl, combine the onion mixture with the tofu mixture. Season again with salt & pepper.




5. Lay puff pastry dough it in a pie plate or other oven-safe dish, creating a border around the edges (mmm, t he best part). Pour the tofu mixture into the dish and spread it evenly. Sprinkle with paprika and top with tomato slices.






6. Bake in oven for 30 minutes, or until mixture is set and crust has browned.





5 Prenatal Practices Low-Risk Moms Should Reconsider

I’d like to start out by stating two important points: (1) this is absolutely not a complete dismissal of the following prenatal treatment in women (2) nor is this a blanket condemnation of the women who choose to elect them during their prenatal care.


Only you and your practitioner can decide what is right for your care in your pregnancy.


Below is my interpretation based on my experience and data I’ve gathered up until this point – of which, I apply to low-risk situations. I encourage all women to learn more about the influence of their role in prenatal care and the effectiveness of such prenatal care in the United States (start by checking this gem out).



Cervical Checks in Late Pregnancy


There is a myth that seems to have been perpetuated in most medical schools in the US: that vaginal exams at the end of a pregnancy (36+ weeks) are beneficial. 

Yes, vaginal exams can help measure certain things - such as dilation, ripeness, effacement, and station...however, these are NOT good predictors of when labor will start.



You may already know that cervical exams don't provide reliable information for when to expect labor to begin – and to that, you might say "So what, it is nice to know how I am dilating”.

If this is case - you may be surprised to find that there are valid reasons to NOT have a routine vaginal exam: increase risk of infection (pushing bacteria found in the vagina upwards toward the cervix) and risk of rupturing the membranes.

It is common during late-term cervical checks that some practitioners routinely sweep the membranes or separate the bag of waters from the cervix to stimulate production of prostaglandins and to 'help' labor begin, however research has not shown this intervention to be effective.

There are, of course, times when cervical checks are helpful - when preterm labor is suspected (unusual bleeding/cramping), uncertain presenting part (unsure if the baby is head down), the need to determine the most effective method for induction (due to medical complications). The results and information gathered from routine vaginal exams prior to 41 weeks have not been found to change the management of pregnancy.[*




Gestational Diabetes Screening

Preface: I was NOT initially going to include this here, but the more I read about GD screening/testing/treatment I found it overtly necessary.

…another Preface: I believe there is a basic rule of thumb that should be applied to most screening tests (whether prenatal or otherwise): that no matter what test you are considering, you should ask yourself "what will I do if the results are positive?". If you eat a terrible diet, you don't exercise and you are over weight - then the results of a positive diagnosis for GD would be a powerful catalyst for you to make important changes in your lifestyle which would carry great benefits to your baby and your health - if this is the case, then I definitely would consider a gestational diabetes screening/testing to be of great benefit that may carry improved the outcomes for you and your baby.


Effective medicine that includes diagnosis and treatment of a disease should satisfy 3 criteria:

1. Diagnosis accurately classifies those who have the disease between those who don’t
2. Treatment is effective
3. Benefits of diagnosis outweigh the risks



A Quick Brief on Diagnosis

Prenatal practitioners recommend a blood test known as a glucose challenge test (GCT) between 24-28 weeks of pregnancy (or earlier if considered higher risk-but we are only addressing low risk here in this post).

You are asked to drink a glucose solution called glucola. One hour later, you have blood drawn to measure your blood sugar level.  A level below 130-140 mg/dL is considered ‘normal’, although this widely varies by practitioner.  If your level is higher than the threshold held by your doctor, you take a second test to confirm the diagnosis. 


For the follow-up test, you are required to fast overnight. You then drink another glucola solution with an even higher concentration of glucose. Following that, your level is checked every hour for 3 hours. When both of the readings are higher than ‘normal’ you are then diagnosed with gestational diabetes (GD or GDM).


Is Gestational Diabetes a Disease? 

Is gestational diabetes a disease-a consensus on that has yet to be determined.

All women experience metabolic changes during pregnancy which lowers their tolerance for glucose – for most women (@ 96%) this is a normal physiologic process.

Because glucose intolerance increases naturally during pregnancy, the determination of screening in the 24-28 week gestation is peculiar.  There is no evidence that this is the optimal time to identify women who would benefit from treatment.[*]

There are some pregnant mothers (@4%) that experience “too much” glucose intolerance which becomes the problem we understand to be 'gestational diabetes’. The most significant risk factors are: increasing age, higher BMI and previous GD diagnosis.[*]

I emphasize here the term “too much” because the diagnosis window in which a medical professional determines if a woman has GD or not is not black and white as one might presume.

The false positive rate is over 80%, so you may need to fast then ingest the syrupy solution again during a 3-hour test....just to find out that you are indeed ‘normal’.

It is critical to mention that nearly 1 out of 4 women diagnosed with GD (with the gold standard 100-gram GTT test) would have inconsistent results just one week later if retested!![*]


Out of the expected mothers screened and diagnosed with gestational diabetes, the majority will deliver healthy babies. There are some risks associated in the 4% of women with gestational diabetes such as a higher risk in c-section, pre-eclampsia, jaundice, and premature delivery – however, there is no association between infant deaths and gestational diabetes.[*]


Despite no strong recommendations in favor of universal screening from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), 94% of medical professionals working with pregnant mothers report performing universal screening anyway.[*][*]

The largest benefit of screening is the avoidance of macrosomia (a birth weight of over 9lbs). As a pregnant mother’s glucose level increases over her pregnancy, extra glucose crosses the placenta which prompts the fetus to produce extra insulin – leading to larger babies.

GD diagnosis is a poor predictor of macrosomia. Only babies over the 90th percentile have been seen to correlate with glucose level and birth weight which characteristically embody those mothers with true diabetes (many of which were not diagnosed until becoming pregnant). Material weight, race, age and number of previous pregnancies are much better factors at calculating the risk of having a large baby.

Despite the lack of evidence for association, most women diagnosed with gestational diabetes will be induced or plan a caesarean section because of the fear of delivering a large baby. [*]


“Despite the increasingly common diagnosis and treatment of Gestational Diabetes, birth outcomes have not improved as a result of these efforts. No more mothers or babies are saved with current treatment of GD than without. Death rates, birth injury rates, and congenital anomaly rates have all remained consistent.”[*]


Let’s recap -

-The timing in which screening is held is completely arbitrary.[*] 

-Screening and diagnosis are not accurate.[*]

-All women experience metabolic changes during pregnancy which lowers their tolerance for glucose which is a normal physiologic process...there is lacking evidence that universal screening decreases risk to low risk babies/mothers[*][*][*][*]


It may be of great benefit to make actions as though the test did come back positive.

Schedule a visit to a Nutritionist/Dietician. Not only will this help with addressing complication of your metabolic changes in pregnancy but it will also help expecting mothers to become more knowledgeable about how to get the best nutrition during pregnancy. Did you know that just by switching 5% of your food intake from red meat to fish/vegetable protein you lower the risk of GD by 51% - That’s amazing![*]


Prenatal Vitamins


The great world of prenatal nutrition and supplement advice…

Believe it or not, it is entirely possible for a woman to obtain everything she needs from her diet to yield a healthy pregnancy. Visiting a nutritionist, in my opinion, should be on top of the prenatal ‘to-do’ list for every mother.


The risk of relying on prenatal vitamins to supplement and provide the daily dose of minerals and vitamins is three fold. 

One: prenatal vitamins do NOT take the place of healthy eating. A mother taking supplements may be more lenient in unhealthy eating choices or, worse yet, completely forego a healthy pregnancy strategy!

Two: Prenatal vitamins do NOT contain protein, fiber or omega-3s (in some cases you end up taking ANOTHER supplement for these as well)…can you name some healthy foods that contain these instead?

Three: Prenatal vitamins do not impart one smidgen of education/understanding of a healthy diet – of which is advantageous to have not only in pregnancy but also when breastfeeding and raising a child.

If a mother can’t afford to consult a nutritionist then there are some benefits in picking up a book and reading about the subject of nutrition – or better yet, you can check out Fit and Healthy Pregnancy Guide (FHP) which, written by a registered dietitian and exercise physiologist, is an online resource for healthy pregnancy options (it even includes prenatal exercises!).

Should a mother forego prenatal vitamins entirely? Of course not – but I would have her consider two points: (1) Please consider nutrition as paramount in a healthy pregnancy (2) consider an organic liquid prenatal vitamin which is more gentle on digestion and more readily absorbed (Rainbow Light and New Chapter have a few options to choose from).



The Flu and Tdap vaccine

I’m going to keep this short and to the point because in all honesty there isn’t too much to say about this one.


In 2010, the ACIP adopted an ‘evidence-based’ process (make you wonder what they were basing their recommendation on before) in making its recommendation to the CDC for whom and when a vaccine is administered…if this was truly the case then neither the influenza nor the Tdap booster should be administered to pregnant mothers. [*]


Influenza

The influenza vaccine is suggested during all trimesters of pregnancy. Yet, there is no confirming evidence in the effectiveness of the administration of this vaccine in pregnancy. In fact, a large (N=49,585) study completed by Kaiser Permanente in collaboration with the Vaccine Safety Datalink Workgroup provided evidence that there is no statistically significant difference in illness rates among those pregnant moms who were vaccinated and those who weren’t (this even factored in women with asthma who are at higher risk for influenza complications).  The assessment of risk/safety of the vaccine during pregnancy is completely absent.[*]


Even at a theoretical level, the safety-benefit of the influenza vaccine in a pregnant population should not tolerate any risk to unborn babies.   


Tdap

Although the US is experiencing the highest rate of vaccination against pertussis containing vaccines then ever before, the CDC states that the reported level of whooping cough is the highest its been in the last 50 years. [*]

Not only that – but the rate has double in just the last year. [*]

These numbers/reports would make any concerned parent-to-be apprehensive.

To remedy the concern, the CDC now recommends (2013) that during each and every pregnancy, a pregnant mother must be administered the Tdap vaccine during her 3rd trimester.

This recommendation is neither recommended by manufacturers of the vaccines nor approved by the FDA. However, doctors do not need FDA approval to recommend and administer the vaccine repeatedly to pregnant women. [*][*]

In fact, there is no data at all to support repeat administration of Tdap in any population, especially pregnant women.[*][*]

To date, one safety trial was completed which incorporated pregnant mothers and a pertussis-containing vaccine. The results are not published or available for review. The trial consisted of 48 pregnant woman and 32 non pregnant women. Both groups received a combination vaccine. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not a clinical researcher - but the assessment of safety seems mute if both groups are receiving a vaccine with one not even pregnant to begin with?! [*]


Need further reason to give more thought to this recommendation (other then the lack of safety/efficacy/approval) – once the vaccine is administered, mothers are more likely to exhibit sub-clinical/asymptomatic signs of pertussis infection. What that mean in laymen’s terms: vaccinated individuals become reservoir for mild infection – a mother will only think she has a slight cold and may continue to keep in close contact with her newborn when in fact she has pertussis![*][*][*][*][*][*]




Ultrasound


Prenatal ultrasound can be a valuable diagnostic tool when abnormalities are suspected – in this case, I hold no reservations.

However – routine prenatal ultrasound is questionable in its necessity and effectiveness in improving outcomes in pregnancy.

Today, routine ultrasounds are used for several reasons: predict due date, determine sex, detect abnormalities, and/or identify placenta previa.


The accuracy in using ultrasound to determine the estimated due date in the early stages of pregnancy is sound, however calculating the estimated due date based on the menstrual cycle is just as accurate (both accurate to plus or minus 3-4 days).

When detecting abnormalities routine ultrasound can detect 35% up to 80% of significant abnormities at birth. This wide range reflects the peculiar reliance on the ultrasound technician (their proficiency in operating the equipment and their ability to determine the best imagines to be reviewed by the physician) and the physicians themselves (aptitude in interpreting ultrasound results/pictures).  False positives do occur; although this occurrence is small – it is significant (1 in 200 babies aborted for supposed major abnormalities, the diagnosis post mortem revealed less severe expectations of which the termination was unjustified).[*] 

Ultrasound is effective in accurately identifying placenta previa, however almost all women will experience the placenta move up prior to labor. The detection of placenta previa by ultrasound is no more safe than detection during labor.[*][*] 

Due to the above mentioned – ACOG recommends ultrasound use for specific reasons only – NOT routine examination of low risk mothers.[*] 

Routine prenatal ultrasound does NOT improve birth outcomes nor does it hold significant benefits.[*][*][*][*]

Instead, routine prenatal ultrasound holds potential harm – physiological and psychological (of which the psychological stress/anxiety is converted to real physical changes in both mom and baby).[*][*][*][*][*]

From the 2010 Cochrane review:[*]

Subjecting a large group of low-risk patients to a screening test with a relatively high false positive rate is likely to cause anxiety and lead to inappropriate intervention and subsequent risk of iatrogenic morbidity and mortality.

The routine prenatal screening in low risk mothers for potential abnormalities in pregnancy can very well become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Final Thoughts

The bizarre thing about pregnancy in our modern era…it is as if all pregnancies are treated to be abnormal until proven otherwise.

Before the implementation and development of our universal prenatal screening/testing/care the fetus and mother was assumed to be healthy…unless data existed pointing to the contrary. Today, this balance shifts towards having to prove the health of the baby – in some extreme cases a doctor will end care if a woman refuses routine screenings!


Ultimately, prental care should be address by both parties involved. Women and babies would be best served when they take an active part in their care.  By revisited research on the recommendations for routine screenings during pregnancy, a woman is not only taking an active role but also insisting on better care.



Two great books for prenatal care:


Thinking Woman's Guide to A Better Birth - Henci Goer


 Reviews the true risks and benefits of interventions during birth as well as discusses topics to prepare women on their journey into motherhood.


Obstetric Myths Versus Research Realities - Henci Goer


 If you are looking for a detailed, analytical approach to pregnancy then this is the book for you!